Flawlessly adapted to the uneven topography of this major commercial and strategic site, the Old Town of Lijiang has maintained a historic townscape of high quality and authenticity. Its architecture blends elements from several cultures all of which resided in the site over many centuries. An ancient water-supply system of great intricacy and ingenuity in Lijiang still functions effectively today. --WHMNet paraphrase from the description at WHC Site, where additional information is available. For 360 degree imaging of this site, click here.

Lijiang City (Chinese: 丽江市; pinyin: Lìjiāngshì) refers to an administrative division comprising of urban and rural areas in northwestern Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China. Its population is 1,100,000. The famous "Lijiang old town" (as it is commonly known) is more correctly called the Dayan old town (大研古镇). The Lijiang old town has a history going back more than 800 years and was once a confluence for trade along the old tea horse road. The Lijiang old town is famous for its orderly system of waterways and bridges. The old town of Lijiang differs from other ancient Chinese cities in architecture, history and the culture of its traditional residents the Naxi people, therefore people there are called 胖金哥 and 胖金妹 (male and female respectively). Lijiang old town (including Dayan, Baisha and Shuhe) was registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List in December 4, 1997. Since then, the local government has taken more responsibility for the development and protection of the old city. Lijiang's tourism also boomed, and travellers from around the world flooded in; although many locals fear that due to much of the development, the old town of Lijiang will lose its appeal. Recently, the government has started to develop additional "old city" sections adjacent to the site of the original old city. This is to accommodate the large number of tourists, particularly Han Chinese, who walk the cobblestone streets (cars are not allowed in the old city), typically as part of package tours. Evenings in the old city can be particularly rowdy, not least due to the many outdoor bars, where boisterous groups of tourists try to "out sing" other groups. Lijiang is also home to the Jade Water Village, a Dongba cultural centre and Lugu Lake, a lake which is a tourist attraction. --Wikipedia. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. For 360 degree imaging of this site, click here.